The growth rate of China's steel demand will decline from 6.3 percent this year to 3.2 percent in 2014 in the wake of the country's economic transformation and the government's efforts to improve the environment.

The nation's steel consumption next year is estimated at about 715 million metric tons, which represents a 3.2 percent year-on-year growth rate, Li Xinchuang, head of the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, said on Friday.

He estimated that steel consumption this year will be 693 million tons.